This invention relates to the field of water beds, and lighting apparatus to illuminate the same.
Prior art devices of this kind do not provide a plurality of spaced apart light sources to more uniformly illuminate the bed and at the same time function as a night light by providing illumination through the side walls of the base of the water bed. Neither do the prior art devices permit the use of different color lens to provide a mixture of colored light since they do not include a plurality of light sources.
Examples of prior art devices include that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,984, which provides a single lighting fixture positioned at one end of the bed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,024 discloses a transparent container having a single light source mounted in a reflector large enough to span one side wall and attempt to achieve better light dispersion by that means. U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,598 discloses a transparent aquarium having a single lighting fixture, but one that is elongated, such as a flourescent bulb, extending across the top wall to achieve better light dispersion throughout the transparent enclosure by use of a single elongated bulb. U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,835 discloses heating apparatus to heat the water in a water bed, in which heat lamps are placed below the water mattress. However, a metal plate 33 has to be placed between the heat lamps and the transparent water mattress to guard against rupture. Such plate obviously blocks out and prevents any light from the heat lamps reaching the water mattress. U.S. Pat. No. 2,290,866 discloses a single light fixture under the foot end of an ordinary bed, not to illuminate the mattress (which is an ordinary non-transparent fabric and spring type of mattress) but to provide indirect low level lighting of the bedroom floor. U.S. Pat. No. 1,760,301 discloses heating apparatus for a baby's bassinet, in which incandescent light bulbs are the heat source enclosed in a chamber under the mat on which the baby lays.